Kansas boat tax amendment wins approval

Kansas boat owners could soon pay lower personal property taxes after voters there approved a new amendment to the state’s constitution.

The amendment gives the state’s legislature the authority to cut taxes on watercraft. Kansas currently has higher taxes on boats than any neighboring states. For example, a $20,000 boat in Kansas would have a personal property tax bill of $750.

In neighboring Oklahoma, it would be $150.

That difference, state officials say, prompts boaters to purchase and register their boats in those other states. It’s estimated that at least 10,000 boats that should be registered in Kansas are instead registered elsewhere, costing the state $1 million a year in revenue.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, the amendment leads 54 to 46 percent.